ZIP 01109 vs ZIP 01108

This side-by-side compares ZIP 01109 (Springfield, MA) and ZIP 01108 (Springfield, MA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 01109 has a population of 30,250 at 2,146 people per square mile, while ZIP 01108 has 26,688 at 2,766 per square mile. That difference in population size and density alone reshapes how every other metric should be interpreted — a higher-income ZIP with 1,200 residents behaves very differently from one with 45,000.

On income and education, ZIP 01109 reports a median household income of $48,415 against $50,661 in ZIP 01108, with per-capita income of $22,188 vs $26,112. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 17.9% in 01109 and 19.2% in 01108. Poverty rate reads 24.9% vs 31.8%, and unemployment 11.1% vs 8.9% — these four fields alone drive most of the difference in the scorecard grades you will see for each ZIP.

Housing separates these two ZIPs further: median home value sits at $219,900 in 01109 versus $250,900 in 01108, with median rent of $1,189 and $1,281 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 47.6% vs 45.1%. When reading the comparison table below, focus on paired metrics rather than single winners — a ZIP with lower home values and lower income is not strictly "worse" if rent-to-income ratios and commute times land in the same zone. Every value is pulled from the exact same ACS table so the two columns are genuinely comparable.